E.
Content Mudule-3
Latest trends in Bibliographic description & Exchange formats: ISBD & CCF
3.1 Objectives:
After reading carefully this module, it in expected that you will be able to understand :
The basic concept and need of bibliographic description ,
The development of preparation of draft for various non-book materials,
With regard to International standard bibliographic description ,
The characteristics and very purpose of bibliographic description ,
The standards format which facilitates for consistency & uniformity in bibliographic,
The meaning of exchange format and the reasons for emergence of CCF
It’s objective, function and structure
The Features and benefit of CCF
Keywords : Bibliographic description, I S B N, Exchange format, Tag, P I G, Record label.
3.2 Introduction:
In this age of Information flood and the advent of IT era, it is very difficult to locate and
retrieve the desired information. Hence it is necessary that the efficient information retrieval
system must have a format of bibliographic description that matches its requirements. A
bibliographic format in such a way to be redesigned so as to make it most compatible with the
new information environment for international library resource sharing, international library
loan and global networking with the aid of information communication Technologies.
The bibliographic description in a process of recording the items of information about the
document for easy identification and instant location, access and for the purpose of effective
dissemination.
3.3 I S B D
3.31 Reasons for flourishing I S B D
For more then 40 year, I F L A has made significant contribution for promoting the cause
of bibliographic standardisation which pave the way for developing the concept of I S B D. The
most viable reasons for flourishing I S B D are :
Continuing influence of the forces that prompted their formulation in the first place,
Inadequate library budget leads to economic necessity of sharing cataloguing, the need
of library automation and importantly to achieve bibliographic control,
Standardisation of bibliographic description format in the viable solution economically
and technologically for creation, conversion and use of machine-readable records,
The I S B D’s were also intended is serve as the main component of I F L A’s program to
make globally and promptly available the basic bibliographic information for all
publications in all countries i.e. to promote Universal Bibliographic Control
3.32 Introduction:
Unprecedented growth of literature gives rise to develop adequate formats with standard
bibliographic description to promote resource sharing among libraries and to have effective
information retrieval system. The library scenario has been completely changed with the
application Information Communication Technology rendered the traditional manual oriented
bibliographic description standards inadequate paved the way for newer bibliographic standards.
Moreover, the fast growth of International Bibliographic Exchange Formats and lack of
compatibility poses problems to exchange records with one another. It is possible if each of the
organizations agree upon a common standard format for exchange purpose to be achieved at
National and International level.
3.33 Development of ISBD
In1969 a Working Group was set up at the International Meeting of Cataloguing Experts
held at Copenhagen which marked the beginning of the process of developing International
Standards for Bibliographic Description which was published in 1971and, subsequently, ISBD
(M) was published in 1974. To cope up with advent of Non Book Materials, specific
bibliographic descriptions are drafted like ISBD (CM), ISBD (AVM), ISBD (CF) etc. Further
ISBD (G) was brought out to offer a generalized structure for the description bibliographic
records and the only utility of (G) is that of ensuring harmony among various ISBD s and to
remove incompatibility among them. Subsequently ISBD (ER) was brought out to catalogue the
Electronic, Internet and Web resources and ISBD (S) for Serials has been changed to ISBD(CR)
Continuing Resources in 2002.
The ISBD specified the elements for bibliographic description, presented the sequence in
which they should be presented and pinpointed the punctuation marks whereby they should be
separated.
There are essentially five phases in the development of a new and revised ISBD:
i) creation of draft text.
ii) World Wide Review
iii) Final Revision
iv) Balloting
v) Publication and workshop’s
The ISBD Review Group has taken initiation to discuss and examine the following :
* to clarity the puropose of area 6 (series) and it’s relation with area 1 in ISBD continuous
Resources (ISBD CR), previously serials and ISSN: idenification or transcription;
*to verify the compatibility of sources of information recommended or prescribed in all ISBD for
area 6 and area 1in ISBD(CR) and ISSN
* to improve consistencyof terminology and content throught ISBDs
After prolong discussion, deliberations, comments and review of the proposed draft which was
posted in IFLANET, feedback received which clearly provided the feasible solutions I the above
issues.
3.34 OBJECTIVES:
ISBD has brought radical changes in descriptive cataloguing. The main objectives are :
To make records generating from different sources interchangeable so as to facilitate
global networking.
To facilitate their interpretation overriding the language barrier, and
To make feasible conversion of such records into machine-readable form.
Intended to be an aid to international communication of bibliographic information
between national and linguistic groups.
Intended to provide the data required in various bibliographical activities i.e not only in
library cataloguing but also in the announcement of new publications and in the
acquisition and distribution of Books and their handling both in the libraries and in the
book trade.
To facilitate the free flow of information by facilitating the exchange of bibliographic
records in one database to machine-readable form.
3.35 PURPOSE:
ISBD helps standardization of cataloguing rules and manual format for machine-readable
bibliographic records.
To make publications identifiable by the descriptions alone without the aid of Headings
of Main, Added entries or Uniform title.
To provide a standard to facilitate International exchange of bibliographic information,
whether in written or machine readable form.
To provide a uniform descriptive framework for all types of library materials that will
serve varied bibliographic uses.
Designed primarily as an instrument for the international communication of bibliographic
information. By specifying the elements which should comprise a bibliographical
description and by prescribing the order in which they should be presented and the
punctuation by which they should be presented and demarcated.
Should also be suitable to machine readable form and development of AACR-2 meets the
ISBD standards and recommendations, as such AACR-2 is applicable to machine
readable form.
To provide a standardization of bibliographic record
3.36 CHARACTERISTICS:
1: It’s comprehensiveness
2: It’s fixed order of data elements
3: It’s use of punctuation as delimiters or
divides between the different
Bibliographic elements.
4: In ISBD traditional data elements of bibliographic descriptions are separated and grouped
into 8 distinct areas.
3.37 SCOPE OF ISBD
There are 8 areas of description as per ISBD are:
1. Title and statement of responsibility.
2. Edition
3. Material (or type of Publication) specific data (used for cartographic materials and
serials)
4. Publication, distribution data, including place and date of Publication.
5. Physical description
6. Series
7. Notes
8. Standard number and terms of availability.
FORMAT OF MAIN ENTRY
3.38 Punctuation marks used in ISBD
The different punctuation marks used to demarcate various areas of bibliographic descriptions in
ISBD have been prescribed in AACR—2R are provided in Appendix-1 for better understanding and
clarity of the students.
3.9 COMMON COMMUNICATION FORMAT (CCF)
3.9.1 INTRODUCTION
The fast growth of international bibliographic exchange formats coupled with
lack of compatibility amongst them creates problems both to libraries and other
information services to exchange records with one another. Hence, each of these
organizations felt the urgent need to agree upon a common standard format for the
purpose of easy exchange. International Symposium on Bibliography Exchange
Formats with the initiation by the UNESCO General Information Programmer in April
1978 in Taormina, Sicily was convened to study the desirability and feasibility of
establishing maximum compatibility between existing bibliographic exchange formats.
The Symposium was organized by UNISIST International Centre for Bibliographic
Description in collaboration with International Council of Scientific Unions Abstracting
Board, IFLA and ISO.
3.3.322 GENESIS OF CCF
After long deliberations by the experts, the Adhoc Group arrived at consensus
for drafting the CCF with the following guide lines:
1. That the structure of the new format would be in accordance with the ISO –
2709.
2. That the core record would consist of a small number of mandatory data elements
essential to bibliographic description, identified in a standard manner.
3. That the core record would be larger in number by adding optional data elements,
identified in a standard manner.
4. That a standard technique would be developed for accommodating levels,
relationships, and links between bibliographic entities.
5. Most significantly it was also recommended that CCF should provide a
meaningful link between the major exchange formats basing on ISBD.
6. Also resolved that to device a technique to establish relationship between
bibliographic records and between elements within bibliographic records.
The concept of the record segment was developed and later refined and
finally a method for designating relationship between records, segments and fields was
duly approved by the Group. Consequently the first edition of CCF was published in
1984 and subsequently the second edition was brought out in 1988.V arious
bibliographic agencies in Asia, North and South America and Europe recommended
changes which were later on duly incorporated into this new edition.
3.9.2 RATIONALE
Within an information system, the records which form the database will
usually exist in a number of separate but highly compatible formats. At least there will
be:
A format in which the records will be input to the system,
A format best suited to long – term storage,
A format to facilitate retrieval, and
A format in which records will be displayed.
3.9.3 NEED OF CCF
The need of CCF is remarkably significant if two or more organizations
intend to exchange records with one another. It cannot be achieved unless and until
each of these organizations come to an agreement to adopt common standard format for
exchange purposes.
The information interchange within that country is possible so also will be
greatly facilitated both technically and economically if there is a single national
standard exchange format. Whereas, if the standard format of each country is different
from all others, then it will be more problematic and complex to have international
information interchange among national bibliographic agencies since a number of
computer programs that must be written to accommodate the translation of records form
one format to another.
The most significant factor is to go for a common and compatible format to
achieve uniformity and consistency among different kinds of agencies creating
bibliographic records.
3.9.4 SCOPE
The CCF is basically designed to provide a standard format for three major
purposes :
1. To permit the exchange of bibliographic records between the groups of libraries
and the abstracting and indexing services.
2. To permit a bibliographic agency to use a single set of computer programs to
manipulate bibliographic records received from both the libraries and the
abstracting and indexing services.
3. To serve as the basis of a format for an agency’s own bibliographic database, by
providing a list of useful data elements.
3.9.5 USES
These uses have been accommodated in the following ways:
1. By specifying a small number of mandatory data elements which are recognized
by all sectors of the information community as essential in order to identifying
an item.
2. By providing mandatory data elements that are sufficiently flexible to
accommodate varying descriptive practices. Each field and subfield indicates
whether-the use of that data element is mandatory or optional.
3. By providing a number of optional elements which may be us eful to describe an
item according to the practices of the agency which cr eates the record.
4. By providing a mechanism for linking records and segments of records without
imposing on the originating agency any uniform practice regarding the treatment
of related groups of records or data elements.
3.9.6 STRUCTURE
The record structure of the Common Communication Format comprises a
specific implementation of the International standard ISO – 2709; Each CCF consists of
four major parts:
A. Record Label
B. Directory
C. Data fields
D. Record Separator
The Diagrammatic Represent on of the CCF Record Structure has been given
in Appendix – 2 for better understanding of the reders.
RECORD LABEL
Each CCF record begins with a fixed-length label of 24 characters to provide
parameter to process record.
DIRECTORY
The directory is a table containing a variable number of fourteen -character
entries; the table is terminated by a field separator character. Each directory entry
corresponds to an occurrence of a data field in the record, and is divided into five parts:
1. Tag
2. Length of data field
3. Starting character position
4. Segment identifier
5. Occurrence identifier
DATA FIELDS
A data field consists of.
1. Indicators
2. One or more subfield each of which is preceded by a subfield identifier.
3. A data field separator
RECORD SEPERATOR
The record separator (Character 1/13 of ISO 646) is the final character of the
record. It follows the field separator of the field data field of the record.
3.9.7 FEATURES OF CCF :
The unique features of CCF attract many institutions, information centers,
and other organization of various countries are mentioned as under:
(1) As all the necessary data elements are incorporated, it can be used to produce
catalogue cards
(2) No cataloguing rules are imposed as it is user friendly and rather catalogue
friendly since .
(3) As it is a flexible and very popular format, many developing countries are
adopting it for the creation of bibliography records in machine readable form;
Absolutely there is no problem for Bibliographic Agencies following AACR2
can be conveniently converted to CCF format.
(4) Provision of basic data elements facilitate for optional elements and private
fields thus enabling an agency to incorporate new standard elements
considered important.
(5) It facilitates a library and bibliographic agency to use a single use of
computer program for the exchange of data.
(6) Provision of the mandatory data elements which ar e flexible and can
accommodate verifying descriptive practices.
(7) Its simple set of data elements that can be used at any bibliographic level and
are dissociated from cataloguing codes.
(8) It is the logically defined record structure which uses the fourth element of
the ISO 2709 directory to denote the bibliographic level and filed occurre nce.
(9) CCF is specifically designed for retrieval and output within an institution. It
neither includes its own cataloguing rules nrecommends any particular
cataloguing code oriented towards any specific type of output format.
3.4. Summary :
This module clearly discusses about bibliographic description, the development of ISBD and later
on bibliographic formats for other special materials like ISBD (AV), ISBD (CM), ISBD (CF), ISBD (CR)
and ISBD (ER) so as to help the catalogues for the purpose of cataloguing. The objectives, purposes and
characteristics are explained. Also the 8 areas of description of ISBD have been mentioned with the help
of an entry showing the organization of items of information of a document. Further, the genesis,
objectives, uses, structure and features of CCF have also been discussed. The structure of CCF have been
explained by citing a diagram for better understanding.
